In the news: Hobby magazines were one of 2013's publishing success stories.

As the magazine industry continues to adapt in the digital world, one sector has been performing particularly well: hobby magazines. In a December 27 New York Times piece, Christine Haughney discusses the recent successes of hobby magazines. This prosperity in a troubled marketplace suggests a possible subscriber shift from general to niche magazine titles.

Among those hobby magazines performing well are Wine Spectator, Cycle World, and Cigar Aficionado. These magazines are thriving thanks to loyal subscribers, circulation growth, and in some cases subscription rate hikes. In a time when magazine staffs are shrinking, some successful hobby magazines are even adding new editors. Read more about the success of hobby-oriented publications here.

Also Notable

Saving Print Magazines

A recent TheAtlantic.com headline asks, "Can Print Magazines Save Themselves?" Writer Peter Osnos concedes that, at least for the time being, "the prospects for print are generally gloomy." However, he isn't writing off the print magazine industry just yet. If print magazines can maintain their quality and charge readers enough for their content, they stand a chance. Read his analysis here.

Online Magazines Turning to Print

There has been a lot of bad news for print magazines this year, and this has led some analysts to write them off as an endangered species. As Matt Pearce of the LA Times writes in a recent article, "Conventional media wisdom maintains that print is headed remorselessly toward extinction, with many old-school publications continuing to struggle and, most recently, the legendary weekly magazine New York announcing that its print edition would soon go bimonthly." But, as he notes in his article, the print landscape may not be as bleak as some pundits suggest: this year, several online-only publications (including Pitchfork) developed print editions. Read more here.

Newsweek Reviving Print Edition

There's more potentially good news in the print world. Newsweek, which shuttered its print edition last year, has announced plans to revive its print efforts. The publication plans to charge readers premium subscription rates for the print edition to remain solvent. Read more about Newsweek's renewed print initiatives here.